


Eternity Can Be Tedious

by wonderlandandotherplaces



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: American Horror Story References, An Idea For Caleb’s Backstory No One Wanted, Angst, Backstory, Based off my headcanons, Caleb Covington Being a Bastard, Caleb Is A Fashionable & Talented Bastard, Caleb’s Mega Gay Adventure, Characters Somewhat Inspired By AHS, Enslaving Souls Should Be A Warning, I Hate This But I Had To Write Something, I Need A Season Two, I Will Not Believe That He’s A Straight Until Proven Wrong, M/M, My First & Last Contribution To This Fandom, Protect Willie & The Sunset Himbos, This Is A Disaster & I Am So So Sorry, This Is STUPID, This Is The Worst & I Am So Sorry, Title Inspired By AHS, sleep deprived writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28241946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandandotherplaces/pseuds/wonderlandandotherplaces
Summary: Who is Caleb Covington? A wicked club owner with style, or something more?
Relationships: Caleb Covington/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Eternity Can Be Tedious

This is honestly the worst thing my brain has spawned & I am so sorry. I don’t own anything.

Caleb Covington died in the late 1920’s.

He tried not to dwell on how he died, or the unpleasant dark room he’d found himself waking up in what seemed like mere minutes after his death.

When, by some stroke of luck though, he was freed from that awful room in what could’ve either been weeks or even months and he found himself on the sidewalk.

A few streets away from his home.

He’s not sure what he’d been expecting to find when he did decide to go there, but he went regardless, just in case.

Wishful thinking didn’t even begin to cover it.

It became clear to him that he’d been in that room for quite some time, as he’d been immediately horrified by the state of his apartment.

His home had been destroyed.

All those hours he’d put into making his home picture perfect had apparently all been for nothing.

Some completely monster with no eye for interior design at all had torn the whole place apart and had redesigned it in a way that had almost had Caleb practically begging to go back to that eternal dark void.

His decorative pillows were gone, all the intricate paintwork replaced with cheap wallpaper and his carpet had been removed.

Even his partner’s desk and chair had been changed.

It had been painted over.

That had been the final straw for Caleb and he’d practically collapsed into the chair, sobbing.

Yes, being alone meant that his partner hadn’t died with him like he’d originally assumed.

That now somewhere, out in the world, his partner should still be alive and yes, the thought of that did make Caleb happy.

However, it also meant that he’d probably be without his dear husband forever.

Eternity apart was never something Caleb had imagined and he’d immediately crumbled when he realised that he was faced with it.

He stayed in the chair for hours, for days.

Watching the new owners of his apartment come and go as his mind went over the arguably happiest years of his life as he ran his fingers over the ring his partner had given him.

He’d been a performer, a singer and eventually, a magician. Worked in the theatre.

Enjoying lavish productions and performing freshly crafted songs.

There was a lot of them there, a whole ensemble and everybody knew each other by name.

Whenever they did have someone new joining them they acted as if they’d been there all along, which is why Caleb knew his partner’s name and vaguely remembered his face before they even had their first proper conversation.

John was a writer, he wrote the songs and the stories.

He was quiet, sat in a chair in the corner of the room and only really spoke when he was spoken to.

Caleb first spoke to him when he had some notes on one of the numbers they were performing.

An idea for a slight adjustment to the lyrics.

Truth he told, he’d had his head buried in the papers when he’d approached John and didn’t look up until he’d finished his critique.

However, when he did look up, he was met with piercing blue eyes, soft black curls, a warm smile and cheekbones for days.

“I’ll take a note of your suggestions.” Was all John had said in response, the end of his pencil held between his lips.

Caleb remembers fixing him with a look and replying with a comment that was dripping with sarcasm, that had only seemed to humour the writer.

They’d bantered back and forth for quite awhile after until it was time for another rehearsal.

Caleb headed back to the rehearsal in a flummoxed mood that day.

Unsure what to think of the admittingly charming writer, which of course he wouldn’t admit.

They struck up quite the friendship in the end, always spending time talking to each other during the time they spent at work and the parties they’d be invited to.

John would comment on Caleb’s performances and Caleb would make various remarks about John’s writing.

At first, Caleb figured they’d probably just squabble for years to come until one of them moved on from the theatre they worked for, but they did become friends.

They’d bounce ideas off of each other and it would end up working out for all parties involved.

It was a productive friendship if nothing else.

However, that all changed when, one day, at the end of a rather draining show, Caleb had been surprised to find a beautiful fresh rose waiting for him in his dressing room.

The first time, he’d been too exhausted to appreciate it and hadn’t really given it much thought at all as he’d passed out in his chair.

When it happened again, he got a little curious.

At first he thought that it was one of the dancers.

They’re sweet on him now and again and he’s always been friendly to them.

There was quite a few of them as well, so Caleb knew that it might take a while for him to figure out which one.

He was never the seeking for a relationship kind of guy, so he didn’t actively pursue finding out who the person was.

It happened again though and again.

He appreciated the gesture, the roses were lovely.

Always fresh, perfect in every way.

It went on for weeks, months even.

Every time he’d finish a show or an incredibly gruelling performance, he’d find a rose waiting for him in his dressing room.

No one ever owned up to it.

It was nearly half a year in when Caleb decided to do something about it.

He wrote a note, plain and simple.

Thanking the person and telling them how he thought the roses were beautiful and that they really were appreciated.

When the next rose appeared, the note was gone along with it, which is what Caleb used to his advantage.

Yes, it was a long shot, but Caleb spent the day just randomly approaching the people he works with to see if any of them had the note or were talking about the note.

To his surprise, none of the dancers made any sort of indication that they’d received his note. 

It appeared that no one had.

However, when he’d dropped some suggestions onto John’s pile of work without the man noticing, Caleb saw John reading the note he’d written.

“Oh, thank god.” Caleb had broken the silence completely out of the blue and John nearly fell right out of his chair.

“I thought it was one of the dancers and I didn’t know how to break it to them that I’m just not that interested.”

They’ve been together ever since.

Their relationship was a well kept secret between the two of them.

At work, it was as if nothing had changed between them at all.

Some discreet smiles and longing looks here and there and John would still leave roses in Caleb’s dressing room because he knew his partner liked that.

They would leave at separate times or pretend that they’d leave as part of a group but always go back to each other’s accommodation.

It was only when they were sure that they wouldn’t be caught that they’d sometimes hide themselves away in an area no one would think to look in at work.

Stealing kisses here and there.

Eventually, they moved into the same building because it was ‘easier to commute’ to work, even if they did live at least an hour’s walk away.

They became inseparable.

They fell in love with each other.

It was the third year into their relationship when John stuck one of Caleb’s roses through a ring.

He knew it wouldn’t look odd, during his performances Caleb would usually wear a bit of costume jewellery and would always forget to take it off until much later.

No one would notice.

When Caleb had approached John with the ring he’d found, his partner had revealed that he had one exactly the same.

Caleb loved the idea.

Yes, they could never actually get married to one another, but they could wear the rings and know.

It really did just look like a piece of costume jewellery.

A thick silver band with a large black oval onyx set in the middle.

Perfect for them.

Then, a couple of years later, they died. 

Caleb had started to practise magic tricks here and there when he wasn’t performing lavish musical numbers. 

He’d gotten good at it, really good in fact and he created a whole act for himself that became quite well known in the end. 

It always used to stress John out and Caleb knew it, because as soon as he conquered one difficult trick, he’d immediately attempt another. 

Unfortunately, he became addicted to the thrill of the more dangerous ones and it drove John around the bend with worry for his partner. 

He wrote more songs for him, crafted beautiful lyrics in the hopes that Caleb would take a break from his obsession with becoming the world’s most famous magician and embrace the theatre again. 

In some ways it worked, in some ways it didn’t, because he now also had a reputation as a daring magician to maintain. 

Caleb merged his two greatest passions into one in the end, a musical performance mixed with his most daring tricks. 

It got him killed and Caleb had assumed that John had died with him.

Apparently, he wasn’t wrong about that, it just took longer for John to escape the dark room than he did.

In fact, it took his husband a year to join him.

Caleb spent that first year of his death alone in his apartment.

Watching as it got torn apart and redesigned horribly by new owners.

At first, he thought that there was nothing he could do about it.

That he’d be doomed to watch his house be torn apart for eternity.

However, as time went on, he found that if he really focused on something, a particular object, then it could actually become solid to him.

With that new skill learnt, Caleb had begun the process of tearing up the horrific cheap wallpaper the very same day.

He didn’t pay much attention to the people that unfortunately occupied his and John’s home, but he did end up noticing that he was absolutely terrifying them with how he was attempting to redecorate.

Caleb couldn’t care less, they’d destroyed his home.

Yes, he’s dead and it technically isn’t his home anymore, but if he’s spending eternity here, then he would like it in the condition he’d kept it in before he died.

What was worse, was that they kept trying to fix the issue.

Trying to undo his efforts.

If he had blood, it would’ve been boiling.

Caleb had focused himself on grabbing a large stick and was about to push the currant occupant of his house out of the window when John had finally arrived.

“Caleb!”

His concentration had broken immediately and the stick had fallen right though his hands when he’d heard his husband calling out to him.

Caleb couldn’t believe it.

His husband was in their apartment, he could see him.

John had died.

“You’re here.” John had looked so relieved to see him and for the first time since he’d died, Caleb finally felt something other than misery and hate.

Caleb forced himself across the room as quickly as possible before engulfing his husband in a tight embrace.

Yes, he had questions, but he also didn’t care at all for them.

His husband was back and he could hold him. That was all that mattered.

“I was with you and then I wasn’t. I was in this room, this awful dark room and I couldn’t get out of it, I thought that was it, what was beyond the veil, but suddenly I’m out on the street and...” John had started to explain, but Caleb had him quickly silenced with a kiss.

“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter now.” Caleb had shaken his head, his hands coming to rest against his husband’s perfect cheeks.

“You’re here. You’re here and we’re done with that place, okay? We’ve got our home back.” He’d embraced John tightly again, refusing to let go for even a second.

“It’s been so boring without you.” He’d ended up mumbling into his husband’s hair.

“How long have you been waiting for me?” John had enquired, but Caleb had decided to spare him of that little detail.

“Oh, you’ve only been gone a month, dear, don’t worry about it.” Caleb had replied after pressing another kiss to John’s lips.

A year, he’d been gone a year.

It didn’t matter anymore though, he was there, they were together and they wouldn’t be apart again.

They had all of eternity to be together.

“I love you.” He’d said the second he’d stopped kissing him.

“I love you.” He repeated, pressing his lips to John’s forehead.

“I love you too.” John had replied and Caleb had tugged him almost sharply back into a tight embrace.

Never wanting to let him go.

“What...” John had started sometime later.

“What happened to our apartment?” 

“Monsters, John.” Caleb had shaken his head whilst clutching his partner’s arms.

“Actual monsters who have ruined my decor!”

It was without a doubt that Caleb’s quality of existence improved drastically after John’s returned.

Of course, things didn’t go back to how they used to be, they were still dead and all that jazz, but the decade that followed was considerably better for them both.

They had each other and their home, technically.

One ugly lamp too far was when Caleb decided to start haunting the owners of their apartment again.

John had initially been against the idea of haunting, content to just exist as a ghost in their home, spending the days with his husband.

Caleb was sick and tired of the blatant disrespect to the home though and quickly taught John the ability of how to focus on an object in order to make contact with it.

During one of his haunting’s he’d managed to tear away the majority of the ugly carpet, revealing the beautiful mahogany floors he’d spent god knows how many hours on cleaning when he was alive.

It terrified the occupants and their fear did brought Caleb joy.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little sadistic?” John had enquired from the couch, after watching the current owners of their home lock themselves in their room, screaming their heads off after Caleb had started to burn the horrific carpet.

“Serves then right for that abomination they taped to our floors.” He’d remarked casually.

Yes, John helped him sometimes.

John had started lightly haunting just to make Caleb happy when the current occupants had brought some horrifying decoration that really did clash with the awful wallpaper they’d put up.

The only issue was, was that Caleb’s haunting’s could be pretty intense and violent, whilst John’s was more discreet and less threatening.

Eventually, Caleb took it too far though and one of the occupants died.

“It’s not my fault that they got impaled. I didn’t put that there.” Caleb had argued when John had been annoyed.

“You pushed them out of the window, I saw you do it!” 

“Bygones, they took it too far this time.” Caleb had shrugged.

“You took it too far this time, Caleb. You killed someone!”

“We’re dead, one hundred percent dead, the laws of the living don’t apply to us anymore and that was a curtain too far. If they hadn’t decided to put those horrible things up, this wouldn’t have had to happen.”

“This didn’t have to happen anyway.” John had attempted to reason with him.

“Can’t take it back now.” Caleb sighed, wanting to wash his hands of the matter.

It was less than six months later when he ended up disposing of the next occupant of their home.

In Caleb’s defence, it had been an accident.

Kind of.

John had been pissed with him, reprimanding him for what felt like hours until Caleb had started to move the body towards the window.

“What are you doing with that?!”

“Look, I’m worried alright? They died on the property.”

“And?” John had frowned.

“I mean, we came back here, didn’t we? I don’t want roommates.” 

“Actually, we ended up in a street.” John had pointed out.

“I ain’t taking any chances.” Caleb aimed the body at the open window.

“CALEB!”

It was another year or more before John just stopped trying to reprimand Caleb for ‘accidentally’ having a hand in the deaths of the occupants of their home. 

Eventually, he gave into it and ended up helping his husband.

For something to do, if nothing else.

John had realised that the more he just sat back and watched the world go by whilst spending as much time with Caleb as possible, that he was slipping away.

It was slow, but he could feel it.

Deep within himself, he could feel that he was slipping away.

It was something he never told his husband.

He’d alluded to it once, when they were lying together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, hands entwined, but Caleb had told him not to worry about it.

That he’d be fine and was probably just imagining it or something.

He couldn’t allow that to happen to him.

There was no way that he could leave Caleb, or return to that dark room.

The thought of either haunted him, ironically.

Which is why, he made himself busy.

Even if that did involve helping Caleb get rid of the people living in their home.

They’d still squabble about it, of course.

“Caleb!”

“What? I told you I was gonna do it and that it was my turn.”

“You got blood on the floor, honey.”

“Ah one quick clean and it’ll be out.”

“One quick clean? Caleb, that’s is mahogany!”

Everything changed on what Caleb thought was going to be a completely normal day.

John likes to walk around the block ever so often, see what’s been changed out their in the world.

Caleb couldn’t really care less, which is why his husband always went alone.

It was completely mundane, he was on the couch, stitching up a new pillow.

Taking a moment to think about how proud he is of both himself and John for getting rid of so many occupants and potential occupants of their apartment.

That the place became completely theirs again because they made it completely unliveable, whilst managing to restore it to practically its former glory.

Occupied with his thoughts, Caleb hadn’t noticed that a mysterious figure had suddenly appeared in his living room.

“Oh god.” Caleb had sighed when he eventually saw what he thought was the ghost of a man.

“Did I kill you? If I did, I’m not sorry, you wrecked my apartment.” He had started, but after taking in the appearance of the mysterious man, he soon realised that he doesn’t actually remember murdering anyone who looked like that.

“Actually, I don’t think I remember your face? Did my husband kill you?”

“We’ve never met before now, but I have been watching you.” The mysterious stranger had replied.

“Why?”

“Well, when a ghost like yourself starts to make some noise, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Everyone who’s attempted to live in this apartment since your departure from the dark room has died, either of fright or other methods.” 

“You’re not the ghost police are you? I thought being dead meant that there wasn’t any laws left for us to abide.” Caleb had sighed.

Thinking about how furious John is going to be about this.

He did warn him about there being possible repercussions after all, many times.

Caleb thought that the worst it could get would be if one accidentally did die on the property and came back to bother them.

“No, absolutely not, there’s no such thing. I, shall we say just keep tabs on the ghosts that remain tethered to earth and I’ve made myself known to you.” 

Caleb raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. 

”Covington, I’ve got an offer that you can’t refuse.”

Caleb had given him a skeptical look.

“Look, you’re handsome and all that, but you’re not my type and I am married, happily so.”

“It’s not that kind of offer.” The man deadpans. 

“You and your husband have been here for what? A decade now. How are you not bored to tears of this place yet.” The man had continued.

“It’s our home and we’ve actually managed to take it back from the living.” Caleb had retorted.

“Does this make you happy though, really? Because, if you ask me, I think it’s rather boring which is why I’d like to present with you this deal. For a little something in return, I could give you and your partner a brand new place.” The man had revealed, somewhat piquing Caleb’s curiosity some more.

“A place that you could design just like this right in the middle of Hollywood. Where you could lead and mingle with other ghosts. I suppose you could even put on a few shows again, like you did when you were both alive. Except this would be your place, a place where you and your partner would be accepted. That you could exist in for eternity.”

“What’s the catch?” Caleb had enquired.

“You mentioned me doing something for you in return, what would that be?”

“Oh, it’s a simple little thing really and something I think you would be quite good at. You’ve been removing the living from this place of yours for years and I’ve received their souls.”

“You want me to go to this place with my husband and kill people for you?” Caleb raised his eyebrow at the man.

“No, no, it’s not like that. It’ll save you and your husband from killing all together, I know it’s just something you’ve felt like you’ve had to do to remain in your home, but this is not like that at all. You’ll meet ghosts like you, lost souls and you’ll offer them a place in your new empire.” He started to explain.

“There will be contracts and such that I will provide you with if you choose to accept this offer. Your job will be to convince these lost souls to join you and at the end of the day, when alls said and done, just when you’ve helped them find peace and they’re ready to move on, they will, just like that. They’ll move on to my realm as I will own their souls.”

Caleb was stunned, unsure of how to respond.

“It’s a limited time offer, Covington and I would advise you to take it. You have promise, as does your partner and you simply can’t let it go to waste.” 

“It wouldn’t, we’d just carry on as we are.” Caleb pointed out.

“The thrill will run out one day and if the thrill is gone and either you or your partner start to lose interest at all then you’ll start to fade away and before you know it, you’ll be lost to the room and that could even separate two of you.” The man had warned.

“Accept my offer and it never will. You’ll never fade away, you’ll experience your afterlife in luxury and, I almost forgot to mention.” He’d smiled at Caleb.

“You would be in charge, which would mean that you would have powers beyond anything you could possibly imagine.”

After Caleb had firmly accepted the offer without a second thought, the man had disappeared, vowing to return the next day so that Caleb could prepare John for the change.

“We’re going to actually get to talk to other ghosts like us.” Caleb had pointed out after explaining the bulk of what had been discussed to John when he’d returned from his walk.

“I don’t know how to feel about this, Caleb, who was this guy?” John had queried when he’d finally managed to get a word in, a perplexed look having formed on his handsome face.

“I didn’t ask...”

“You didn’t ask?!”

“Details. Look, this could be good for us, think about it we never have to worry about anyone trying to move into and take over our turf again. You hate having to get rid of them, John. You’d never have to do anything like that again.” Caleb had continued, resting a hand on his husband’s folded arms.

“There’s got to be a catch.” John retorted.

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” 

“Yes, I will worry about it. What does this man actually want us to do?” John presses.

“I told you, we just set this place up and do our thing. Except we’re actually going to be helping people, lost souls like us. Helping them move on if they’re stuck here and actually want to go elsewhere.” Caleb had decided to say.

“It sounds like a great opportunity, it really does, but there’s something off about this, Caleb. I don’t. I don’t know what to think about this.”

“Oh, Don’t worry about it, honey.” Caleb had pressed a kiss to his husband’s forehead, stroking over his perfect cheekbones with his thumbs.

“We’re starting a new chapter, a fun one, also apparently...” He paused for a moment, for dramatic effect of course.

“Apparently what?” John raised an eyebrow at him.

“I can fly now.”

“You can what?”

“Fly? Levitate I guess, I’ve been given certain abilities because of this.” Caleb had informed him.

“I don’t like this, Caleb.”

“Oh come on, we’re already dead, darling. Let’s make the most of it.” Caleb had given him a bright, somewhat mischievous smile.

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

The man had returned to take them to their new place the very next day as promised.

The large, almost imposing building had been completely empty when they’d arrived in it and work started almost immediately.

John had remained suspicious of the mysterious man every step of the way as Caleb worked with him to design the place to the way he wanted it.

He’d allowed John to have some input in the design, especially when it came to their suite in the penthouse style part of the building.

They kept a lot of the designs they’d chosen for their home over the years.

Throwing all their ideas together to turn them into something they were both satisfied with.

It became one hell of a club.

A club for the dead to visit and to stay until they passed over and Caleb’s employer could possess their souls.

He never mentioned that aspect of the deal to John.

Deciding that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not something that John would benefit from knowing about.

That he could manage it on his own.

The man came to him after all, the deal was for him and they’d both agreed that John probably wouldn’t want any part in it.

He hadn’t particularly been very fond of the ways in which they would get rid of the residents that attempted to take over their home. 

It was when he’d learned the ropes of the contracts and how he was supposed to handle them that Caleb figured that there wasn’t any harm in John not knowing.

That he could just be blissfully unaware of it whilst they ran the club together.

They’d decided to fill it with music quite early on.

That they’d perform again.

John would write more music and Caleb and the musically inclined ghosts that would pass through would perform it.

Caleb thought that they had it better than they did when they were alive.

They’d never have to hide their love again.

They were able to be completely open about it in ways they never thought they would and there was a certain beauty in that.

To Caleb in particular, it was the life he’d always wanted.

He could be the showman and express his love for his partner all at the same time.

For him, it couldn’t get any better.

He felt like he was living in paradise.

It was just so much fun.

Yes, Caleb had the mildly nasty and somewhat inconvenient job of enslaving souls and passing them on to the higher authority, but there were more pros then cons.

Caleb even found a pro in the enslaving souls business.

Sometimes there would be certain ghosts that would dare to flirt with his husband.

Understandable? Yes, John is one of a kind, cheekbones for days, sculpted by the gods etc, etc. Acceptable? Absolutely not.

At first, he’d appear to be somewhat subtle about it by either introducing himself to the offending ghost as John’s partner or he would just walk up to his husband and kiss him there and then.

After he would retreat to his office and convince the higher management to help him deal with that certain ghost.

That, Caleb has definitely considered to be one hell of a pro.

Another one would be that they had a whole club that they were in charge of.

The Hollywood Ghost Club.

John had decided to call it that, Caleb had a thousand more suggestions that were significantly more flamboyant.

“We need to make a statement, John! ‘The Hollywood Ghost Club’ ain’t gonna do that.” Caleb had retorted.

“Trust me on this, it will. It’s to the point and it’s literally what this place is, a ghost club in Hollywood, trust me it will stick.”

“It will never stick!”

The club did, in fact remain ‘The Hollywood Ghost Club’ 

It became very popular amongst the dead and for awhile they were meeting new lost souls nearly every single day.

Business was great and they all looked amazing doing it.

Caleb’s new powers included being able to conjure up pretty much anything he could possibly dream of and he definitely took advantage of that.

Choosing outfits for himself that he never thought he would ever be able to wear.

Long velvet coats and smart suits in black and purple.

Intricately designed for day wear and for when he would put on a show.

He’d let John take advantage of it too, but his partner usually just stuck to black and leather.

The leather pants John had decided were his favourite were quite honestly a dream to Caleb.

They both prided themselves on how they looked when they were alive and it only ended up mattering more to them in death.

Which is why the flamboyant outfits they’d craft for themselves soon became everyday wear.

Even when they were alone in their suite, John would wear a full velvet dressing gown whilst Caleb would stick to soft silks.

He’d even suggested to John that they could craft themselves new wedding rings, but John had convinced him not to in the end.

The black and silver ones they already wore were good enough.

A reminder of the life they had lived before they had died.

Perfect for them.

They existed like this for decades.

Full time leaders of The Hollywood Ghost Club and performers.

Caleb had formed a whole new ensemble and crew out of the ghosts that stopped by and became a part of the club.

It was very much like the ensemble and crew he and John once worked for when they first met.

Filled with musicians, dancers and more, with Caleb to lead them, they crafted some extremely extravagant performances.

The type Caleb had only dreamed of creating when he was alive.

Sometimes John would even sing.

He’d never sing his own songs, but he’d do incredibly soft covers.

Caleb always loved hearing his husband sing.

He always did have the most angelic voice.

Sometimes when they would be switching off the lights in the club they’d take a moment just to appreciate the place they’d made their own.

They’d dance together on the empty stage.

Another benefit about being dead for Caleb was always that he’d never have to experience neck ache again when he’d dance with John, who has always been the shorter of the two.

So, he would lean forward slightly and press his forehead against his partner’s and John would usually either hum or sing softly as they’d move together.

“I love you so much.” John would whisper and Caleb would just hold him as close as he possibly could.

They were both clearly so happy with their existence and it was those moments that would make the whole enslaving souls part of the deal one hundred percent worth it to Caleb.

“I kinda like it, you know.” Caleb had remarked from the large plush black and purple couch he’d had placed in the middle of the stage when no one was using it.

No one else dared to sit on it, Caleb had made it pretty clear that the couch was for himself and John the second he’d decided to conjure it up.

“What?” John had sighed contently from where he was relaxing in the couch, stroking Caleb’s hair absentmindedly, who had been lying across him.

“Our life. Yeah, we’re dead and I never really did give much thought as to what the other side would be like, but I never thought it would be a club in hollywood.”

John had paused for a moment, smiling down at his husband.

“What?” Caleb had frowned when John had suddenly stopped stroking his hair.

“Nothing, you just gave me an idea, love.”

“Ooh, I’m intrigued.”

John had smiled whilst Caleb had shifted positions a little.

“Just an idea for a song, possibly a musical number.”

“About what I just said?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

“I love my genius of a husband.” Caleb had kissed his hand, whilst John had chuckled.

“I love you too, Caleb.”

The song John wrote was amazing.

He’d taken Caleb’s words and had created ‘The Other Side Of Hollywood’.

The first time Caleb performed it he’d been so pleased with it that he’d launched himself with such force at his husband that John had been caught completely off guard and phased through a wall.

Caleb considered it to be a masterpiece beyond words.

They performed the song as a duet a few times but it always ended up in them basically wanting to devour each other straight afterwards.

Causing great bewilderment to a new ghost called Willie who’d just appeared in the club for the first time.

From the moment they met, John decided to take Willie under his wing.

The teen had been incredibly scared when they’d first met him and like he’s done with so many other ghosts before, John made it his mission to comfort him.

It didn’t take long for Caleb to get the kid to agree to become a permanent part of the club.

Well, permanent until he completed his unfinished business and the higher management decided to claim his soul.

John comforted all the new arrivals.

He’d comfort them when they were scared and didn’t understand what was going on.

He would even bring a few in off the streets during some of his trips outside.

Some of the younger ghosts had even taken to calling him The Dad Of The Hollywood Ghost Club, which Caleb thought was weird.

He did act like a father figure to them though, especially to Willie.

Willie adored John and ended up looking up to him as a father figure.

Unfortunately, the bonds John had started to form with the ghosts that would come into their club worked out in Caleb’s favour in a way that Caleb knew his husband would hate.

It only helped Caleb collect more souls and sign them over to the man who allowed all of this to happen for them.

John would bring in so many lost souls.

At the time, he thought he was helping these souls to move on.

To resolve their unfinished business.

Nurturing the ones who were unsure as to what their unfinished business was.

Caleb refused to tell him the truth.

Knowing that it would break his heart.

“I was thinking.” John had remarked one day when they were lying in their bed.

“What about?” Caleb had asked, squeezing his husband’s hand.

“A lot of the souls we meet, they’re lost, looking for their unfinished business but some of them are so young, literal kids that barely know what ‘unfinished business’ means.” John had pointed out.

“And? They’ll work it out.” 

“Not without help.”

“You help them enough as it is, honey.” Caleb stroked his husband’s cheek.

“I want to do more. I can’t help it, I just feel so bad for them and I was wondering if you wanted to help me. I was thinking that maybe we could adopt...”

“What? What are you talking about? Why on earth would we do that?” Caleb had given him an odd look.

“Because it would be nice and we can do it. We couldn’t do that when we were alive but we can now and there are some really young, absolutely terrified kids that I see out there not knowing where they are or what’s going on. We could take them in, look after them.” John had explained.

“Did you want this when we were alive?” Caleb had decided to ask with a frown.

“Of course I did, but I knew it was impossible so I never mentioned it, but now? Now it isn’t. Come on, I think you and I would be good at it.” John had beamed and Caleb hated it.

Hated how he knew what he was really doing and that because of that, he could never give John what he wanted.

There’s absolutely no way he could allow himself to get attached to any of these souls he meets.

Putting a distance between himself and the ghosts is the only way Caleb is able to do the job he’s gotta do.

“I don’t know, John. I guess I just don’t really like kids.” Caleb had shrugged.

“Oh come on, please just, let’s give it ago and if it doesn’t work out, then I’ll think of something else.” John had continued, still giving him that dazzling smile Caleb loves so much.

“They do pass on in the end you know.” Caleb had muttered.

“Not for a long time though.” 

“Still happens...” Caleb had continued, stopping only when he saw the disheartened look in John’s electric blue eyes.

“Come here.” He’d pulled John into his arms.

“I just don’t want you to get too attached, darling.” He has attempted to reason with his husband.

“I wouldn’t...”

“Yes you would and you know it.” Caleb had pressed his lips to the top of John’s head.

He’d wanted to change the subject.

The thought of making a mistake and accidentally revealing the truth terrified him. 

Especially when he was so damn close to doing exactly that.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Caleb had murmured, a smile decorating his face when he felt John press his lips to his chest.

“I love you too, always will.”

Futile.

No matter what Caleb did, John was always going to find out and eventually, he did.

Caleb just never once saw it coming the day that it did and he doubts he ever would have.

Willie.

Caleb had been reckless and had gotten Willie to complete a few tasks for him.

Reminding him of their deal when Willie didn’t do as he asked or was a tad too disrespectful for Caleb’s liking.

Willie didn’t know what to do in the end and when everything reached breaking point for him and for once, Caleb was nowhere to be seen, the teen allowed himself a moment to freak out.

To break down due to all the stress from Caleb’s demands and the fear of what the club owner would do to him if he didn’t do as he was asked.

John found him alone in an alleyway and had immediately gone to his side.

Willie was far too gone by that point to even remember the fact that John probably from his own knowledge and observance, didn’t know.

All he knew in that moment was that he was with someone he trusted.

John was kind, caring and he looked up to the older ghost.

John is also the only one any ghost has ever seen tame the unruly force that is Caleb Covington.

Willie had just wanted it all to stop...

“Hey, honey what did you do with my dressing gown? You know, the nice silk one. I can’t seem to find it.” Caleb had stopped mid sentence when he saw the look on his husband’s face.

There were tears in John’s eyes but he also looked furious.

“What’s with the unhappy face, darling?Who hurt you?”

Caleb wasn’t at all prepared for the response he received.

“What the hell did you do?” John had practically snarled at him.

“What the hell did I do? Nothing that I can think of that would make you this mad. What’s wrong?” Caleb folded his arms.

“How can you just stand there and... You know, don’t you? You know what’s wrong but you’re just... How could you do this. Did you make a deal with the goddam devil to get this place?!”

“Oh.” Caleb had fallen silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

“Oh?!” 

Somehow, John had found out the truth.

Looking back, Caleb’s choice of response wasn’t exactly the best.

“Who the hell told you?!”

“Oh my god.” John had buried his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.

“It was that Willie wasn’t it? He shouldn’t have said anything to you. It wasn’t his place to talk to you about this...”

“No! No, don’t you dare. Don’t you dare take this out on him. He has done nothing. This is on you, you did this. You made some awful deal with that man and you’ve been controlling the souls of the ghosts that we’ve met here all this time.” This is the angriest Caleb had ever seen his husband get. 

“Technically he owns them, I just do as I’m told. It’s a contact...”

“Yeah I know about the damn contact, Caleb! The very same contract that allows you to control them, to hurt them. I don’t understand. What were you thinking?!” John had yelled at him.

Caleb had chosen to remain silent for a moment, he’d been trying to come up with some kind of counter-argument.

“How could you do this? How could you lie to my face about this place?! When we first got here and when I asked you... When I asked you if there was more we could do to help these people...”

“I. I did tell you not to get attached as this is why. Am I proud of what I’m doing? Of course I’m not, but this is our life, John. A life that we have built together.” Caleb had attempted to reason with him.

“A life built on a foundation of lies. You were never going to tell me about this, were you?” 

“No I wasn’t.” Caleb had decided to be blunt about it.

“Did you really think that I wouldn’t find out about this?” John had enquired.

“I knew you wouldn’t like it and would try to talk me out of it...”

“If I had known about this, we never would’ve done it. I never would’ve let you make a damn deal with that guy. I don’t care if this is our life, you’re hurting people, you’re hurting kids. Literal kids who are lost, frightened and who died too damn young. You’ve exploited and enslaved them. I can’t. I can’t believe you would do this. You lied to me and you made me... Oh my god they probably thought I was in on all of this to, didn’t they?”

“I mean, I never said that you weren’t, but they evidently knew that you didn’t.” Caleb had grumbled.

Deciding there and then that there would be hell to pay when he next saw Willie.

“Maybe that was my fault. I should’ve known, I should’ve asked more questions...”

“You were busy. It all worked out perfectly, you befriended them, I. Well I did what I had to do, alright?” Caleb had muttered.

“Why? Caleb if the near hundred years we’ve spent together has meant anything at all to you...”

“What are you talking about? This isn’t about us, John!” Caleb had retorted.

“Of course this is about us!“

“You told me once that you felt like you were slipping away. We needed this, John. There’s no way I would’ve let you slip away because god knows what would’ve happened. Maybe it was literal for you maybe it wasn’t, but I didn’t feel like that and I couldn’t imagine existing in this world without you. I couldn’t let you slip away. Sure, the job kinda sucks, but we have this place and our eternity. Personally, I think it’s worth it.” Caleb had declared firmly.

“How could hurting innocent people be worth it?” John had snapped back.

“Because I get to spend my eternity with you. I know you’re angry, you have all right to be, I shouldn’t have lied to you about it, but I knew you’d be against it and I had to take the offer. Figured you’d come around to it eventually if you ever did find out.” 

“I could never be okay with this.” John had shaken his head.

“Really? So murder, you can excuse that but not signing over a couple of souls to a higher authority out there? Come on, you know that you were against the idea of me killing the people that ruined our apartment but you came around to that in the end. You can do the same with this.”

“No I can’t! They’re kids! These are goddam kids, Caleb and no. No, I won’t.” John held his hands up and backed away from his husband.

“I can’t do this. I won’t be a part of this.”

“What else is there for us but this? I’m not going back to that room again and neither are you.” Caleb had argued back.

“Of course I don’t want to go back there! I couldn’t think of anything worse than going back to that goddam room, but I would, I’d go there happily right now because despite how much I don’t want to, this is worse, being here knowing that you’re doing this is worse than that.” John had ended up admitting.

“You don’t mean that...” Caleb had attempted to approach him, but John had recoiled from him immediately, backing straight into the neon sign they’d fixed to the wall of their room.

“But I do. I do and I’m done. I’m done with this. I can’t be here and I’m taking Willie and as many...”

“You can’t. The contact.” Caleb had cut him off, surprised at the explicit language he had immediately received in response.

“It’s like I don’t even recognise you anymore.” John had stated with a teary look in his brilliant blue eyes.

“John.” Caleb had attempted to reach for his partner, but John walked away instead.

“Please don’t do anything stupid, I don’t know how to protect you if you’re not here and if you’re going to have a problem with this...”

“I don’t care what that thing does to me, Caleb. I don’t even recognise you anymore and I can’t. I can’t be here.” He had moved towards the door.

“John!”

“What, Caleb? I’ve got nothing to lose!”

Caleb never saw John again.

He searched for him, used every soul he had on contact.

It got to the point where the higher authority decided to pay him a visit.

“Where is he? Did you put him back in that room?” Caleb had asked.

“No and I’d like you to give me one good reason why I shouldn’t. He’s opposed to this, wants to find a way to free the souls and bring an end to everything we’ve built here.” The man had responded.

“Just tell me where he is and I don’t know, I’ll send that boy who caused all of this to happen to talk to him. I can stop him from doing anything he’s going to regret. He’s just mad that I didn’t tell him.” Caleb had pointed out.

“From what I’ve witnessed, it seems to go deeper than that. I will have to step in and take action if he can’t be stopped, or if his attempts to stop us do prove to be successful.”

“You can’t, please give me a chance to fix this or for him to calm down. He’s my husband, yes he probably hates me right now, but maybe once he’s cooled off a bit he’ll be back and it’ll be business as usual.”

Caleb didn’t know that John been watching.

Observing the whole time.

Or that he’d finally made his mind up and simply walked away.

Caleb spent weeks, months, over a decade even searching through every place he could think of for John.

Screaming at the ghosts he enslaved when they came back either empty handed or with no news for him whatsoever.

It was like John had just vanished and after a while, Caleb was afraid that he had.

That John had moved on or had actually returned to the dark room on his own volition.

There was just no trace of him. 

Willie received the full force of Caleb’s anger.

Caleb blamed him for John finding out.

He would’ve told his boss to take Willie’s soul straight away if it wasn’t for the fact that Caleb was also afraid that if he did send Willie to the great beyond that he’d lose any hope of finding and fixing things with John.

He kept him on, but made his displeasure known by getting Willie to do the majority of his dirty work for him.

Forcing him to do so many gruelling and sometimes horrific tasks.

Deep down, Caleb knew that he shouldn’t take it out on the kid, but he doesn’t care.

Truth be told, there were times where he just fell apart.

Over a hundred years of marriage will do that.

He lost his husband because of the brat.

He was thinking about all of this on the day Willie had returned with the ghosts of Sunset Curve.

Preparing himself for the number, Caleb had glanced down at his sleek silver and black ring that John had given him so many years ago.

A lifetime ago...

It’s back to work now, he’d thought as he’d ran his fingers over it before heading to the stage to introduce himself.

Perform, convince a bunch of idiot teens to be involuntarily enslaved and hand them over to the boss.

Business as usual.

It should be more exciting than it is, he muses as he’s giving the crowd his introductory speech.

It was more exciting, when he had it all. The mysteriousness of the job, the club and his husband.

It’s different now.

For a long time he’s allowed himself to believe that eternity would be nothing but endless fun.

Maybe it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, he muses as the music begins.

Perhaps eternity can be tedious.

“...Allow me to show you. Let me introduce myself, we’ve got some time to kill...

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I am so, so sorry for this, I don’t know why my brained decided to spawn this & I am sorry I even thought it was a good idea to post this. I binged this season in a day & I fell in love with it. Julie is my ultimate favourite but Caleb? Caleb is my problematic favourite, his songs are brilliant, I want to know more about him & honestly this is the most chill character I’ve seen from this guy play on tv. I think the idea for this came from me observing the fashion & what I saw was that other then that he is fabulous, that he also wears a ring on his ring finger so I assumed Caleb was married or it’s probably just costume jewellery.
> 
> I need this show to be renewed for both a) my sanity & b) so this absolutely mess I’ve written isn’t what I’m left with for an idea of Caleb’s possible backstory. I need a well written backstory for this dude. 
> 
> Again, I am so sorry for this insanity my brain spawned, I’m not a good writer by any means. Thank you though for reading this & please comment if you can & have any thoughts on these characters, thank you so much for reading. This fandom is so kind.
> 
> Feel free to come & yell at me & see the original headcanons for this on my tumblr
> 
> Tumblr: @wonderlandandotherplaces


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